Redwood forest saved from vineyard development

Brian Pickett, a forester, (left) and Chris Kelly, the California Director for the The Conservation Fund collect data in a redwood stand to be used in forest management, on the Preservation Ranch property on Tues. June 11, 2013 near Annapolis, Calif. A public-private partnership led by The Conservation Fund has purchased 19,645 acres of forest known as Preservation Ranch, the largest conservation project in the history of Sonoma County. The property, a vast forested parcel threatened by development and vineyard conversion, is part of a campaign by the fund to preserve more than 125,000 acres of Douglas fir and redwood forests and use sustainable management practices to conserve critical habitat, restore native watersheds and support local economies through 'light-touch' timber management. less

Brian Pickett, a forester, (left) and Chris Kelly, the California Director for the The Conservation Fund collect data in a redwood stand to be used in forest management, on the Preservation Ranch property on ... more

Photo: Michael Macor / The Chronicle

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The thick forested landscape of the Preservation Ranch property on Tues. June 11, 2013 near Annapolis, Calif. A public-private partnership led by The Conservation Fund has purchased 19,645 acres of forest known as Preservation Ranch, the largest conservation project in the history of Sonoma County. The property, a vast forested parcel threatened by development and vineyard conversion, is part of a campaign by the fund to preserve more than 125,000 acres of Douglas fir and redwood forests. less

The thick forested landscape of the Preservation Ranch property on Tues. June 11, 2013 near Annapolis, Calif. A public-private partnership led by The Conservation Fund has purchased 19,645 acres of forest ... more

Photo: Michael Macor / The Chronicle

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Brian Pickett, a forester with The Conservation Fund collects data in a redwood stand to be used in forest management on the Preservation Ranch property.

Brian Pickett, a forester with The Conservation Fund collects data in a redwood stand to be used in forest management on the Preservation Ranch property.

Photo: Michael Macor / The Chronicle

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The thick forested landscape of the Preservation Ranch property on Tues. June 11, 2013 near Annapolis, Calif. A public-private partnership led by The Conservation Fund has purchased 19,645 acres of forest known as Preservation Ranch, the largest conservation project in the history of Sonoma County. less

The thick forested landscape of the Preservation Ranch property on Tues. June 11, 2013 near Annapolis, Calif. A public-private partnership led by The Conservation Fund has purchased 19,645 acres of forest ... more

Photo: Michael Macor / The Chronicle

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Chris Kelly, the California Director for the The Conservation Fund on a ridge top above the Preservation Ranch property on Tues. June 11, 2013 near Annapolis, Calif.

Chris Kelly, the California Director for the The Conservation Fund on a ridge top above the Preservation Ranch property on Tues. June 11, 2013 near Annapolis, Calif.

Photo: Michael Macor / The Chronicle

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A Douglas Fir tree against the thick forested Preservation Ranch property on Tues. June 11, 2013 near Annapolis, Calif. A public-private partnership led by The Conservation Fund has purchased 19,645 acres of forest known as Preservation Ranch, the largest conservation project in the history of Sonoma County. less

A Douglas Fir tree against the thick forested Preservation Ranch property on Tues. June 11, 2013 near Annapolis, Calif. A public-private partnership led by The Conservation Fund has purchased 19,645 acres of ... more

Photo: Michael Macor / The Chronicle

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A Buckeye tree on the Preservation Ranch property on Tues. June 11, 2013 near Annapolis, Calif. Before the Preservation Ranch developers changed the name the area was known as the Buckeye Forest.

A Buckeye tree on the Preservation Ranch property on Tues. June 11, 2013 near Annapolis, Calif. Before the Preservation Ranch developers changed the name the area was known as the Buckeye Forest.

Photo: Michael Macor / The Chronicle

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The thick forested landscape of the Preservation Ranch property on Tues. June 11, 2013 near Annapolis, Calif. A public-private partnership led by The Conservation Fund has purchased 19,645 acres of forest known as Preservation Ranch, the largest conservation project in the history of Sonoma County. less

The thick forested landscape of the Preservation Ranch property on Tues. June 11, 2013 near Annapolis, Calif. A public-private partnership led by The Conservation Fund has purchased 19,645 acres of forest ... more

Photo: Michael Macor / The Chronicle

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A California Sister (adelpha californica) butterfly on the Preservation Ranch property on Tues. June 11, 2013 near Annapolis, Calif. A public-private partnership led by The Conservation Fund has purchased 19,645 acres of forest known as Preservation Ranch, the largest conservation project in the history of Sonoma County. less

A California Sister (adelpha californica) butterfly on the Preservation Ranch property on Tues. June 11, 2013 near Annapolis, Calif. A public-private partnership led by The Conservation Fund has purchased ... more

Photo: Michael Macor / The Chronicle

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The Preservation Ranch's seventeen acre vineyard on Tues. June 11, 2013 near Annapolis, Calif., is now the property of The Conservation Fund. The development group had plans of selling sixty parcels of the property and turn them into homes and vineyards before the Conservation stepped in to purchase the forest land. less

The Preservation Ranch's seventeen acre vineyard on Tues. June 11, 2013 near Annapolis, Calif., is now the property of The Conservation Fund. The development group had plans of selling sixty parcels of the ... more

Photo: Michael Macor / The Chronicle

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Chris Kelly, the California Director for The Conservation Fund, walks along the Wheatfield Fork River which is on the southern boundary of the Preservation Ranch property. A public-private partnership led by The Conservation Fund has purchased 19,645 acres of forest known as Preservation Ranch, the largest conservation project in the history of Sonoma County. less

Chris Kelly, the California Director for The Conservation Fund, walks along the Wheatfield Fork River which is on the southern boundary of the Preservation Ranch property. A public-private partnership led by ... more

Photo: Michael Macor / The Chronicle

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Looking out across the Preservation Ranch property on near Annapolis, Calif. A public-private partnership led by The Conservation Fund has purchased 19,645 acres of forest known as Preservation Ranch, the largest conservation project in the history of Sonoma County. less

Looking out across the Preservation Ranch property on near Annapolis, Calif. A public-private partnership led by The Conservation Fund has purchased 19,645 acres of forest known as Preservation Ranch, the ... more

Photo: Michael Macor / The Chronicle

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Chris Kelly, (left), the California Director and Brian Pickett, a forester, for The Conservation Fund consult over a map of the Preservation Ranch property near Annapolis, Calif.

Chris Kelly, (left), the California Director and Brian Pickett, a forester, for The Conservation Fund consult over a map of the Preservation Ranch property near Annapolis, Calif.

Photo: Michael Macor / The Chronicle

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Chris Kelly, the California Director for the The Conservation Fund on a ridge top above the Preservation Ranch property on Tues. June 11, 2013 near Annapolis, Calif. A public-private partnership led by The Conservation Fund has purchased 19,645 acres of forest known as Preservation Ranch, the largest conservation project in the history of Sonoma County. less

Chris Kelly, the California Director for the The Conservation Fund on a ridge top above the Preservation Ranch property on Tues. June 11, 2013 near Annapolis, Calif. A public-private partnership led by The ... more

Photo: Michael Macor / The Chronicle

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Brian Pickett, a forester, (left) and Chris Kelly, the California Director for The Conservation Fund along a ridge high above the Preservation Ranch property on Tues. June 11, 2013 near Annapolis, Calif.

Brian Pickett, a forester, (left) and Chris Kelly, the California Director for The Conservation Fund along a ridge high above the Preservation Ranch property on Tues. June 11, 2013 near Annapolis, Calif.

Photo: Michael Macor / The Chronicle

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Brian Pickett, a forester for The Conservation Fund above the Eastern edge of the Preservation Ranch property near Annapolis, Calif. A public-private partnership led by The Conservation Fund has purchased 19,645 acres of forest known as Preservation Ranch, the largest conservation project in the history of Sonoma County. The property, a vast forested parcel threatened by development and vineyard conversion, is part of a campaign by the fund to preserve more than 125,000 acres of Douglas fir and redwood forests and use sustainable management practices to conserve critical habitat, restore native watersheds and support local economies through 'light-touch' timber management. less

Brian Pickett, a forester for The Conservation Fund above the Eastern edge of the Preservation Ranch property near Annapolis, Calif. A public-private partnership led by The Conservation Fund has purchased ... more

Photo: Michael Macor / The Chronicle

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Brian Pickett, a forester for The Conservation Fund collects data in a redwood stand to be used in forest management, on the Preservation Ranch property on Annapolis, Calif.

Brian Pickett, a forester for The Conservation Fund collects data in a redwood stand to be used in forest management, on the Preservation Ranch property on Annapolis, Calif.

Photo: Michael Macor / The Chronicle

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Brian Pickett, a forester, for The Conservation Fund collects data in a redwood stand to be used in forest management on the Preservation Ranch property on Annapolis, Calif. A public-private partnership led by The Conservation Fund has purchased 19,645 acres of forest known as Preservation Ranch, the largest conservation project in the history of Sonoma County. less

Brian Pickett, a forester, for The Conservation Fund collects data in a redwood stand to be used in forest management on the Preservation Ranch property on Annapolis, Calif. A public-private partnership led ... more

Photo: Michael Macor / The Chronicle

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Redwood forest saved from vineyard development

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A giant redwood forest in Sonoma County that was on the verge of being divvied up and plowed over into a patchwork of vineyards has been preserved by a public-private partnership that engineered what is being touted as the largest land conservation deal in California history.

The group, led by the nonprofit Conservation Fund, purchased 19,645 acres of forest known as Preservation Ranch, just east of Annapolis, saving the vast ridgetop groves of redwood from being plowed over for vineyards.

The $24.5.million purchase is part of an effort by the fund to eventually preserve more than 125,000 acres of Douglas fir and redwood forest and use sustainable management practices to conserve critical habitat, restore native watersheds and support local economies through “light-touch” timber management.

The ranch, which is 13 times larger than Golden Gate Park and will be renamed Buckeye Forest, is part of an experiment in Northern California in which redwood groves are being preserved and selectively logged in a way that allows the overall forest to grow faster, enabling the owners to gain credits in the state’s emerging carbon market.

The plan is to improve creek habitat for steelhead trout and restore coho salmon, which were wiped out in the area by repeated logging in the past. Several hundred miles of logging roads will be re-engineered or removed in an attempt to cut erosion and sedimentation that Kelly said devastated spawning habitat in Buckeye Creek and the other streams that drain into the Gualala River.

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